Virginia Retirement System

What they do

Founded in 1942, VRS is the 18th largest public or private pension fund in the United States and the 41st largest in the world. It serves over 860,000 active and inactive members, retirees, and beneficiaries, including teachers, state employees, and local government workers. The system manages a highly diversified portfolio across public equities, fixed income, credit strategies, real assets, and private equity. Notably, VRS operates a robust internal asset management program that manages roughly $39 billion in-house to save on external fees, while acting as a major Limited Partner (LP) that commits billions annually to top-tier external private equity, venture capital, and real estate funds.

What they look for

The primary objective of the VRS investment portfolio is to achieve the highest level of return for a given level of risk over the long term. Because investment earnings fund approximately two-thirds of all benefit payments to retirees, the fund prioritizes active management, deep diversification, and compounding returns to moderate risk and minimize fluctuations in employer contribution rates.

Stage

Ideation, Pre-seed, Seed, Series A, Series B+

Sectors

SaaS, Climate, Fintech, Healthcare, Proptech

Based

Richmond, US